the_lioness | (no subject)

(no subject)

The phone rings for what surely must be the tenth time this minute, a shrill sound that has Alanna looking as if she's ready to scale the wall. No one in their right mind would call her calm and collected, even when the phone doesn't interrupt the quiet waiting room sounds of hushed conversation and magazine pages being turned. The room itself is a drab olive green color, only moderately aided by the faint light from the windows. Several posters of mothers with newborn babies grace the walls. One is crooked, and Alanna has been fighting the urge to climb over the next row of seats to straighten it. She looks at the pictures, looks around the waiting room, and convinces herself yet again that everyone here is going to know that there's something just a little bit different about her.

With a cheery, singsong greeting, the receptionist answers the phone, covering the mouthpiece to ask a newly arrived patient a quick question.

Exhaling slowly, Alanna tugs on Adam's sleeve and gestures to the telephone.

"I'm glad we don't have those," she says, doing her best to relax.

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Adam hushes her a little bit, but laughs.

"They're helpful, you know."

"So are fireplaces," she informs him, lowering her voice with a quick look around. "And much less loud."

Although it's not always possible to have the other person talk back. A minor detail, in her opinion.

"Heaven forbid you ever get your hands on a computer."

He leans over and places a kiss on her forehead, looking around and surprisingly pleased to see that they don't look at all out of place, even without his help. His foot twitches rhythmically against the floor, and his eyes glance nervously over the literature.

The kiss is appreciated and serves to relax her momentarily. She makes a face at his comment, but it's really just a token effort. Biting her lip, she pats his knee before standing and crossing the room, nonchalantly straightening the picture and scooping up additional pamphlets and leaflets.

Returning, she sits down heavily and begins pouring over a pamphlet, handing it to Adam when she's done.

"Am- amniocentesis. That doesn't sound very pleasant."

Adam looks at the pamphlet, and his face crumples into a kind of surprised disgust.

"Well, I suppose it-

it's for the best, sometimes."

He almost sounds sure.

Alanna's face is apparently doing its best to match the walls. Wrinkling her nose, she presses the rest of the pamphlets into his hands.

"I'm beginning to wonder if placing some of this literature here is their attempt to weed out patients. If you find something that doesn't involve needles, feel free to share."

It's now three minutes past their appointment time. Alanna stares at the clock, nervously biting her lip.

"Doctors are never on time."

He reassures her, placing a hand over hers.

"I just want everything to be all right," she whispers, eyes forward. "It may be weak to say, but Goddess, it's true."

"It's all-

it's all anybody wants."

He squeezes her hand tight.

Alanna nods furiously and meets the eye of a woman across the room who looks at least as nervous as she feels herself, and is alone. Adam's hand is suddenly gripped rather tightly in turn.

She occupies herself by thinking about good things, like the rather large chance she will be able to convince Adam to curl up in bed later with ice cream and a book of names.

Surely they won't try to do that needle thing today?

"Seven minutes late," she announces. "Indy told me the doctor will have a machine that could tell us if we're having a boy or girl.

"Do we want that?"

"I don't know. We can choose, if we want. I think."

Adam watches all of the people in the office as they come and go, waiting for the one who'll call Alanna's name--

Alanna Young.

He grins.

"Okay. I don't really mind either way, only-"

An older nurse with straight black hair and kind eyes calls her name, glancing down at the file in her hands to make sure she got it right.

Alanna Young

It's still new and still has the power to make her smile giddily, even in the face of all her nervousness.

Alanna jumps up. "Me. That's me. I'm Alanna Young."

And now the entire waiting room knows it.

Adam laughs and shifts nervously and waits for the woman to nod at him with the bored look of a woman who's dealt with far too many nervous fathers. They follow her back to a room where he's made to stand outside while Alanna changes (what, do they think he got her pregnant without looking at her?) and when he's allowed back in, she's up on the table wearing a flimsy gown, and they're left alone to wait for the doctor.

These people are clearly sadistic idiots.

Alanna is cold. She had refused to take her socks off, and shivering, pulls Adam closer so she can burrow closer to his warmth.

Muffled, "she put this cuff on and then attempted to squeeze my arm off!"

"She was taking your blood pressure.

...which I'm going to guess was a little elevated."

He manages not to smirk. mostly.

Annoyed, "so she said."

Alanna is actively trying to insinuate her arms into Adam's sleeves.

"I told her everything, just like we said. Except I forgot and mentioned Tortall, so that is now the name of our house in Lower Tadfield. I hope you don't mind."

"It's fitting, really."

And who knows. Maybe some day they'll have a house in Lower Tadfield, and name it that.

"There are a lot of... things."

He picks up something that looks like an oversized ice lolly stick.

"They put this on your tongue."

One of Adam's sleeves is suddenly out of reach, and Alanna glares at it until she focuses on the array of new toys with which to play.

"Whatever for? To see how long you let them?" She would slap it away quickly. "Here, what's this?"

She picks up a triangular shaped instrument on a stick, peering at the front. Some sort of button gets pushed accidentally, and a bright light shines in her eyes.

"...That wasn't pleasant."

"It's even less unpleasant when they place it up your nose."

Which Adam, of course, proceeds to do.

....riiiiight as the door opens. He twirls around, Alanna's nose still lit up.

"Uh. Hi!"

A blonde doctor backs her way into the room.
If her hair is any indication of her current mental state, she's frazzled beyond belief.

There's a reason the phones were ringing off the hook in the waiting room, Doctor Geraldine Lord is a busy busy lady.

"Yes. Good...good morning. I'm doctor Lord. Geraldine Lord, but you can call me Gerry..."

Her eyes dart up from the chart she's attempting to quick-study, and over at the couple.

"Is there something wrong with her nose?"

Stunned, Alanna can do nothing but stare nervously at the doctor until she recovers enough to bat Adam's hand away.

"Get your silly... ooof... out!" She rubs her nose and blushes, nodding her head in greeting. "There's nothing wrong with my nose. Wrong... orifice." Brightly, "Dr. Lord, did you say?"

Oh, that's rich.

"I'm Alanna Young," she announces with obvious pride. "I'm pregnant. We're pregnant. Well, obviously he's not pregnant... Mith-"

Weakley, "hello."

Adam hides his hand behind his back and faces forward, grinning, ever the model of mature maturity.

"Yes. She's pregnant. I'm sure the other could be done, but it would be a bit tricky."

Uh.

"I'm Adam."

He holds out the hand with the medical instrument.

Geraldine smiles.
She hasn't even read down to the previous preganacies section of the chart, but she already knows the answer is none.

New parents are adorable.

"Alanna. Adam. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Without batting so much as an eye, Geraldine frees the oto-nasal scope from Adam's grasp. At least he didn't attempt to wield it as a weapon, unlike her previous nervous father-to-be.

"Now, first things first. Please, no more of this 'Doctor Lord' nonsense. If it persists I'm afraid I'll have to resort to calling you both Mr and Mrs Young, and no one wants that, do we?"

"I wouldn't mind terribly much," Alanna tells her, smiling nervously as she resettles on the table. "But I understand wanting to shed the honorific every now and then. Oh yes, I do."

She swallows, eyes darting around the room.

"Er, sorry we were playing with the... thing."

Adam nods quickly, nervously, and his hands are back to wringing, this time in front of his back.

his chest.

WHATEVER.

"Do I need to-

should I-"

He nods at the door.